Word: tb
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...name of the disease evokes images of antiquity, a footnote in dusty encyclopedias of human sickness overshadowed by the abbreviated diseases of the present—SARS, HIV/AIDS, H1N1. Few students would be able to guess that one third of the world’s population is infected with TB or that more than 12,000 cases were reported in the U.S. in 2008. Transmitted by coughing, sneezing, or spitting, TB thrives in the humid and closely-packed quarters of slums and urban outskirts...
However, just last week, a Harvard student was diagnosed with TB, with roughly 40 identified as at risk for exposure as a result of this case, reminding us of its startling proximity to our privileged community. Instead of dismissing it as a disease of the developing world, we should take this opportunity to recognize TB’s continued relevance on the public health advocacy agenda and engage with the actors that have long stalled progress...
...What it means to have a positive skin test is that you’ve had the TB germ in your body at one point. It doesn’t mean you’re sick or contagious,” she said, noting that roughly one in three individuals worldwide have been exposed to TB at some point in their lives...
Matthews stressed that a positive skin test does not mean an individual is actively sick with TB...
According to Eric Rubin, a professor of immunology and infectious diseases at Harvard Medical School, those students who test positive for TB without showing signs of illness will be recommended to start a nine month regimen of daily antibiotics...